Purdue shooting panel: Many asked 'what if?'

West Lafayette Police Chief Jason Dombkowski during the Jan. 21 fatal shooting on the Purdue University campus. A panel has reviewed the comments and made recommendations to improve the safety and wellbeing of campus stakeholders.
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File photo/Journal & Courier
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After the Jan. 21 shooting of undergraduate teaching assistant Andrew Boldt in an Electrical Engineering Building classroom, Purdue University received hundreds of letters, emails and phone calls with recommendations for improvement in public safety, telecommunications and mental health services.

Behind those letters was this subtext, Purdue leaders said: What if? What if Boldt had not been the target of an attack by a peer, Cody Cousins, who has been charged with murder, but just one of the victims of a shooting that took more lives?

"When all was said and done, the vast majority of the comments we received were not about this specific tragic event at all," said professor Patricia Hart, who led a panel to evaluate the feedback.

"Instead, most of the comments we received were unconsciously preceded by 'what if.' What if someone with a gun had been going around campus trying to shoot the greatest number of people? This awful event caused us to stop for sober reflection."

Purdue leaders told the community Wednesday at a public forum in Purdue Memorial Union that they have reviewed the comments and made recommendations to improve the safety and well-being of campus stakeholders. A report addressing the feedback was released Tuesday.

"This is an extraordinarily safe community we live in," President Mitch Daniels said. "Out of this awful tragedy it appears some real improvement will come."

Since the murder in January, nearly 2,000 faculty, staff and students have received training in emergency preparedness and response. Hart suggested that each member of the campus community learn about emergency procedures such as "shelter in place," which was employed during the shooting, or what to do in a natural disaster.

"It is essential we each take personal responsibility for safety," Hart said. "Now is the time to train and prepare, and we need to make sure this training is repeated."

The panelists said they suggested that actions be taken to streamline communication and technology in the event of a disaster. Right after the shooting, Purdue officials created a Twitter account, @PurdueEmergency, where real-time updates and instructions can be received.

That Twitter account has amassed a little more than 1,000 followers. By contrast, the main Purdue Twitter account (@LifeAtPurdue) has 42,500 followers.

But the double-edged sword of putting more information on social media is the tendency for people to get hold of incorrect information or rumors, Daniels said.

"This strikes me," Daniels said. "The same tools that do allow us (to improve communication) were the source of all kinds of miscommunication and rumors."

The panelists said they recommend that a system called Alertus Beacon, which lights up and displays emergency messages, be installed immediately in large classrooms and in areas where wireless services may be limited.

Wednesday morning's panel also addressed concerns about faculty behavior in the aftermath of the shooting. Hart said there is no excuse for not putting students' safety first.

"They must place safety above a desire to cover a certain amount of material on a given day," Hart said. "I was told a story of a faculty person who refused to evacuate a building when there was a fire alarm. This is not acceptable."

Purdue's legal counsel, Steve Schultz, who helped evaluate the availability of mental health services on campus, said Purdue has an excellent array of services but could do a better job in raising awareness about available services.

The panelists said they were not in charge of implementing the changes and improvements. That will come after further study and an external review of the report.

In the meantime, Hart said the Purdue community continues to mourn Boldt and hopes to learn from his passing.

"All of the Purdue community continues to feel a deep sorrow for the loss of his life," Hart said.